Water-conductor and joint



(No Model.)

J. L. OLD. Water Conductor and Joint.'

No. 233,690. Patented Oct. 26,1880.

lliure rares JAMES L. OLD, OF ALLEGHENY, PENNSYLVANIA.

WATER-CONDUCTOR AND'JOINT.

SPECIFICATION forming' part of Letters Patent No. 233,690, dated October26, 1880.

Application filed March 6, 1880.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JAMEs L. OLD, ofAllegheny city, county of Allegheny, State of Pennsylvania, haveinvented or discovered a new and useful Improvement in Water-Conductorsand Conductor-Joints; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, concise, and exact description thereof, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, inwhichlike letters indicatin g like parts- Figure l is a perspective viewot a part or section of my improved conductor. Fig. 2 is a transversesectional view ofthe same. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the couplingrib or joint detached or separate from the pipe; and Fig. 4 is atransverse sectional view, illustrative of the manner of applying suchrib or joint.

My invention relates to expansible waterconductors for buildings and itconsists in forming such conductor with a hollow expansible coupling ribor joint, which is folded or bent in longitudinal lines in such way asto inclqse, or partially inelose, asmall passage-way, which is separatedfrom the main pipe or passage by the contact or convergence ofthe sidesof the rib, so that as force is applied to expand the conductor bywatcrfreezing therein orotherwise the converging sides of the rib will beseparated, thus uniting the two passages into one and enlarging the areaof the conductingpassage without bursting the pipe. I also so constructthis coupling rib or joint that it will have more or less spring actionor tendency to return to its original form when the expanding force isremoved, and thus prevent permanent distortion of the pipe.

ln the drawings, A represents the body or main tube of my improvedconductor, which may be made round, as shown, or of polygonal form.Instead of uniting the edges ot' this pipe or tube directly by a seam,as heretofore, I do it in the following way: rIhe longitudinal edges ofthe sheet or blank ar'e bent over, forming flanges a, which divergeoutward from their abutting angles a when such blank or sheet is bentinto pipe form. The extreme edges of thesetlanges may be still furtherbent, as at a2, by preference, so as to be nearly in the same planewhenthe angles a are in con-` (No model.)

tact. Aseparate strip or back, c, connects the sides or flanges a., thesame being secured to the edges a2 by m'eans of ordinary folded seams c.The two converging sides a and back c thus form a hollow or tubular ribor coupling and inclose a small passage, B, along the side ot' the pipe,which is separated from the main passage A by the abutting or convergingsides at a. In case water should freeze in either or both of thesepassages the expansion caused thereby would tend to separate or spreadapart these converging or abutting sides, thus opening both passagesinto one and increasing` their combined area, thereby making room forthe expansion without bursting or injuring the conductor. Owing to theconverging t'orm ot' this rib or joint, such spreading of its sides willbe greatest at or near the angles a', decreasing toward the back c untilarrested by the bend a2. There will thus be little or practically notendency to open the seams c in case the same are made at the junctionof the back with the sides a, and consequently the requisite strengthmay easily be secured. f'

In order to secure as pfar as possible the return of the rib or joint toits original form when the expanding force is removed, I give to tneback can outward curve or convex form, and also to the sides aan inwardcurve orconcaveform, as shown, which will give to them increasedstiffness and spring action; also, the seams c', or equivalent folds inthe metal, add still greater stiffness to the rib at its outer angles,and thus prevent permanent bending at these points and give itadditional spring action.

It is often desired to make -the conductor of tin or other light sheetmetal, which can be readily worked by ordinary tinners; and in order toenable them in such case to make the pipe part A of the conductor, Imake this coupling rib or joint of a piece or strip of sheet metalseparate from the body of the pipe or conductor, but provided with meansfor readily attaching the same, as at C, Fig. 3. This l do by bending orJfolding the strip or sheet in longitudinal lines to form the back c andconverging sides c of the hollow rib, and also narrow wings or anges b,extending out a little way from the abutting angles et', the edges IOOot' which are bent or folded, as at e, to or with which thecorresponding edges ot' pipe A, Fig. 4, are secured by ordinary foldedseams e. For convenience in forming such seams I prefer to bend the twoedges e in opposite directions, as shown. When these ribs orjoints C arethus made from a single sheet or strip there is no necessity for seamsat the junction of back c and sides a, though in order to secure thesame stiffness and spring action at these angles which seams wouldimpart I prefer to fold the metal upon itself along such angles, orre-enforce the same, as at d.. This feature may be dispensed with,however, or the back c and sides a may be made of separate pieces andunited by seams, as first described, and suoli modications I consider ascoming within my invention.

The function of this coupling-rib C is the same whether made separatefrom'the pipe, as in Fig. 3, and afterward united thereto, as in Fig. 4,or when made in part integral with the pipe, as in Fig. 1.

I propose selling' to the trade separate coupling ribs or joints,such asI haveherein shown and described,and ordinary tinners being suppliedwith the same can readily add thereto a body or pipe, A, of tin, andthereby make a cheap but much better and more serviceable conductor thanheretofore-one that will have large capacity for expansion whenrequired, and yet be well adapted to preserve its form.

In order to put together readily sections of my improved conductor, Iclip oft' the corners of the seams c or folds d at one end of eachsection, as at s, and then, byopening or spreading the sides a a littleof the adjacent end of the next section, such clipped end may be slippeda little way into the opened end, like joints of stove-pipe. In this waythe passage B, as well as the main passage A, is made continuous throughthe length of the conductor.

In fastening this conductor to a building any suitable band or clip maybe employed, which may either pass around the body of the pipe, or mayengage by forks or prongs the seams c or the projecting part of the ribor joint.

I ain aware that it is not new with Ine to make a conductor havinglongitudinal folds in the pipe, both in the form of open corrugationsand also inelosing a small passage along the side of the pipe, whichwill open into the body of the pipe under expansive force, and therefore1 do not claim, broadly, a conductor having such features, aloneconsidered.

I claim herein as my invention- 1. A water-conductor, A, having itslongitudinal seam or joint formed by outwardly-divergent flanges ct,with a connecting-back, secured to the edges of the flanges by seams c',substantially as set forth.

2. As a means for j oinin g the edges of waterconductors, a hollow ortubular rib, C, made separate from the pipe, and having a springback, o,withits sides c converging to, or nearly to, contact, and provided withwings or flanges b, for attachment with the edges of the pipe,substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

JAMES L. OLD.

lVitnesses R. H. WHITTLEsEY, C. L. PARKER.

